01/11/2025
After months of petitions, posts, and plenty of frustration throughout the community, Maryborough’s VicRoads agency has officially been spared – for now.
Central Goldfields Shire Council announced it has reached an agreement with VicRoads to keep the full range of services in town, including licence testing and vehicle inspections.
Mayor Grace La Vella said it was “a hard road to get to this point,” but that she was “delighted we’ll be able to drive forward with confidence.”
Council CEO Peter Harriott said the arrangement would be “financially responsible and without additional cost to ratepayers,” though he warned there could be “temporary reduced service in November” while recruitment and training get back on track.
The Labor Member for Maryborough's electorate of Ripon, Martha Haylett, made the announcement with a nine-word Facebook post: “It’s official – Maryborough VicRoads is here to stay.”
That was it. No figures, no timeline, no fine print. For a community that spent months fighting to keep the office open, the lack of detail raised eyebrows.
“If it wasn’t for the community, this office would be shut today,” stressed David Hendrickson from R U Safe Driving School, who proudly led the campaign to save the service alongside his daughter and business partner, Sophie Tribe.
“Yes, it’s staying all 'full services' at the moment, but for how long?” he asked. “I see this as a band-aid fix.”
“The only people that get anything out of this is the shire, as they don’t have to subsidise a government agency,” he added. “And Martha Haylett, thinking she’s going to win votes for the upcoming election. Don’t become naive and believe these people.”
“Martha stated she would not support the fire levy, but voted for it, screwing us all,” he continued. “Remember, the shire and Martha didn’t mention anything about Central Highlands water closing.”
David and other local campaigners were not happy with what was released yesterday on social media by both Martha and Council, noting that it showed no commitment to the future of the VicRoads Office.
“While I’ve been away, I’ve been busy organising the next step for the Save Our VicRoads Campaign,” he revealed, announcing that the campaign “will be attending the Energy Breakthrough in full force.”
Sophie echoed David's concerns. “Please keep in mind, they still haven’t released how long this agreement has been approved for,” she noted. “1 month? 5 years?”
“We need to keep fighting until it’s been secured for years to come,” she stressed. “Otherwise, we’ve won for the moment, but in ‘X’ amount of time, we’ll be picking up the same fight to keep it open with all services.”
In response to David and Sophie’s public questions, Martha revealed that she had tried to call David a few times yesterday to talk it all through.
“It is a long-term funding agreement, so definitely not a short-term temporary fix,” she confirmed. “It means the petition is no longer needed, as we’ve got the outcome the community wanted.”
“The groundswell of support helped show VicRoads and council how critical this service truly is to our region,” she added. “Thank you for all your advocacy.”
The campaign to save the office drew in more than 7,000 signatures – nearly the population of Maryborough itself – after weeks of uncertainty and speculation about closure.
The grassroots effort, backed by the community – and supported by a number of local groups, including Central Goldfields Ratepayers & Residents Association – was widely credited with forcing both Council and the State Government to front up.
Council’s social media post confirming the deal was quickly met with similar questions. “Great news, can you confirm how long this arrangement has been approved for?” asked Sophie.
When another resident commented, “That’s typical – they should not take any credit for this outcome,” she replied, “Yet to get a reply from the Council or from our local MP.”
Many locals expressed a mix of relief and suspicion. “Common sense at last.” “Fantastic news.” “Well done to Dave and Sophie.” “For how long?” “The wording of it all was very uncertain.” “Hopefully it’s permanent.”
That cautious optimism is understandable. Maryborough’s VicRoads branch isn’t a typical state-run office – it’s operated by Central Goldfields Shire Council.
That structure left it particularly exposed when the former Andrews Government part-privatised VicRoads in 2022, controversially signing a $7.9 billion, 40-year lease with a consortium involving Macquarie Asset Management and two major superannuation funds.
The change introduced a “transaction-based” funding model, reimbursing councils per customer served – a system that works fine for high-traffic regional centres, but not for smaller towns where locals tend to arrive in bursts rather than queues.
Council says the new agreement will be “reviewed regularly to ensure the service is operating efficiently and on a sustainable basis.” For a community that’s fought hard just to keep what it already has, that line sounded less reassuring and more conditional.
The Member for Western Victoria, Joe McCracken, who backed the campaign, was blunt earlier this month, attending the popular Maryborough rally.
“Enough is enough,” he stressed. “Labor will spend billions on flashy Melbourne projects, but can’t guarantee the future of vital country services like VicRoads in Maryborough.” That sentiment cuts to the heart of why this story struck such a nerve.
Maryborough’s already lost its Telstra shop, its Westpac bank, its Central Highlands Water office, and seen countless local services drift away over the past decade. For many, the fight for VicRoads became symbolic – a battle over whether small towns still count.
So yes, Maryborough’s VicRoads is staying. Learners will still sit their tests locally, and residents won’t have to spend half a day driving to Ballarat for paperwork.
But with no term disclosed and phrases like “reviewed regularly” hanging in the air, few are ready to call this permanent. As one local put it simply: “We’ve won the battle – but until we see it in writing, we’re keeping our signs ready.”
